1. Field of the Invention.
The field of the invention relates to an apparatus for bending material such as laminated wood veneers.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art.
The manufacture of certain furniture designs requires the bending of plywood into a desired shape. An apparatus known as a wedge die has been employed for this bending. A previous such wedge die has included a female section and a male section. The male section is split in two with the halves separated by about a one inch space. A plurality of fire hoses are flattened and positioned within this space. The hoses are capped with an air inlet on one end. A manifold is provided for tying all the hoses together so that only a single air supply is required.
As the female section is forced down over the male section, a workpiece positioned therebetween is bent into a generally U-shaped configuration having about the same shape as the female cavity. After the die sections are closed to their limit, compressed air expands the fire hoses applying additional pressure to the workpiece.
This type of forming die has several drawbacks. One is limitation of side pressure which is controlled largely by the air supply. There are also pressure limits to the caps and connections to the hoses. The split male section must also be of sufficient size to provide structural integrity. This limits the minimum size "U" configuration that can be formed.